Don't let the devil choke the word of God from you - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) Oct 20, 2023

The devil is an expert at attacking people. It has spent centuries fighting mankind in an effort to contend with the Lord. However, the children of God have been well-armed to defeat this enemy. The Bible provides an overview of the many strategies the devil uses. It's all just a matter of whether we take the time to pay attention and let the Spirit of God provide wisdom. When we do these things, we can see the devil coming and prayerfully remain behind our protector, the Lord God Almighty. That way, all the attacking arrows sent our way will hit our hedge of protection, while we continue on our journey unscathed.

God is a giver and kindly has given us His word to help us walk through life on earth to His kingdom in heaven. Alas, satan strives to choke that word out of people. This is done in an effort to cause individuals to forget the Lord's blessings and promises. It is to make people think God is incapable of handling their most troubling concerns. And how does the devil achieve this feat? We are told in Mark 4:18-19: Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

The scripture makes it clear that the enemy fires arrows about the "worries of this life." What does this refer to? This could be the bills you have to pay. How about the stressful boss and coworkers that make your job uncomfortable? Or, this could mean the health issues that tag along, causing distress in your life. But, the devil doesn't stop there. Another weapon the enemy uses is to confuse people with the "deceitfulness of wealth." The devil has convinced so many to seek wealth to the detriment of their soul. The quest for riches becomes an idol that takes precedence over God and the things of God. The devil persuades people to see money as the fix to all their problems, instead of recognizing the Lord as the solution. Meanwhile, the reality is that the dogged focus on wealth, and the unquenchable desire for more of it, is merely a trap. It is the evil spirit of Mammon, which seeks to keep people from reaching heaven.

And before one knows it, "the desires for other things come in" to suffocate the word of God from a person's lips and their very heart. That person would have once been a fervent believer in God who over time, cannot find time or energy to study the Bible, to pray, to worship the Lord, or do what pleases Him. Instead of God's grace improving them, they seek solely to please their flesh - doing what makes them happy - while being unconcerned about the things that make God smile. Mark 8:36 - For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world [with all its pleasures], and forfeit his soul? (AMP).

We have to be on high alert because satan always applies these tactics against us with the goal of making the word of God unfruitful in our lives. The devil wants us to think that walking faithfully with God is unprofitable. It wants us to abandon our position of authority and victory, which are only obtained in the bosom of God Almighty. However, if we walk away and allow the enemy of our souls to drive us from the safety of our Lord, then it wins. Is that what you want? Never forget that Jesus resisted the devil by speaking the word of God. It is therefore something each of us must be prepared to do. God wants us to stand, head high against all the schemes of the devil, and has committed to help us do so (Isaiah 43:2). Don't let the devil choke the word of God from you. It is the ballistic missile needed to silence and incapacitate satan.

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For more related content, please read:

1. Listen & Check the Word

2. Know God's Word & Power

3. God's Mysterious Word

4. God's Written Word

5. Praise For The Written Word & More

6. Plumb Line

7. Let It Go

The Weaning in the Wilderness - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) October 17, 2023

How many of us remember the story of the Israelites being in the wilderness for 40 years and immediately feel a pit in our stomachs? It can be hard to wrap our heads around the fact that a journey that should have taken mere days lasted four decades.

However, we often ignore that those 40 years were crucial for the Israelites' development. Those years of waiting allowed the LORD to wean them off of what they'd learned during more than 400 years of living in Egypt. They needed to learn to trust God and obey Him, instead of resorting to what they knew from their past.

Many of us are equally walking around in the wilderness waiting to step into our promised land. The journey isn't fun and sometimes we wonder when it will come to an end so we can enjoy the promises and goodness we expect from God.

However, just as God needed to purge 'Egypt' out of the Israelites' system, He needs to purge things from our past out of us. He needs to teach us how to rely on Him solely for everything just as the Israelites had to lean on him for food, water, and safety in the desert.

Sure, we all think we've been in the wilderness for long enough. That is understandable because the wilderness is not a comfortable place to be in. As far as we're concerned, we're ready to step into the land of milk and honey. But are we?

Despite what we think, only God knows the appropriate time for each of us to step into His promises. He alone knows the processes we must go through to be properly prepared. And while He is working on us in the wilderness, it is best to submit to His will. We need to let Him mold us into the version of ourselves that best reflects His glory. That way, when we enter the Promised Land, we won't stray from Him. Instead, having been well-trained, we will walk with Him faithfully and consistently. And His glory will rise and remain on us as a result.

May the Lord wean us of what needs to go and be glorified so we enter and remain in the Promised Land well trained by His grace and to His glory, IJMN Amen.

On Fear & Inexperience - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) October 13, 2023

When God wanted to free the Israelites from slavery under Pharaoh, He instituted plagues, split the Red Sea in half, and then used that same sea to swallow up their enemies. Then, while in the wilderness, He ensured that the people had water, food, and security as He led them to Mount Sinai where He actually met with them. There, He invited the elders, Moses and Joshua to spend time in His presence. He also spoke directly to the Israelites, introducing Himself to the entire nation. At that meeting, the people committed to having Him as their only God and promised to never bow to any idols.

How was it then that despite all these miraculous events, which happened within a span of weeks, these same people quickly built an idol to worship?

The whole thing seems so ludicrous when one takes the time to read the entire series of events. However, it will shock most of us modern Christians to realize that we are no better than those Israelites of old. And, in some ways, we may even be worse than they were.

Why do I make this claim? Simple - at that point in time, the Israelites were fresh in their walk with the Lord. They'd spent over 400 years in Egypt and though they had heard of the God of their ancestor, Abraham, they were more familiar with the false gods and practices of Egypt. As such, returning to what they knew - idol worship - seemed like the logical option. Plus, they only asked for the construction of the idol - the golden calf - after waiting for Moses to return from spending time with God. He'd been gone for over a month and they doubted that he'd ever return.

Fear drove them to make the mistakes they did. That and their inexperience with the Lord. While many of us can claim fear as a reason why we are making mistakes, can we claim inexperience?

When we look at our lives, we can admit that we have tasted God's goodness. Remember that problem that was miraculously resolved after a brief plea to the Lord, for instance? What about the issue you went into prayer and fasting on, then saw God work things out for you? We can also acknowledge that we've heard and seen God's might through the testimonies of other people. And despite all this, when the trials arrive, we doubt whether or not He'll come through. We shove the evidence of His faithfulness to the side and create our own solution to comfort ourselves. Just as the Israelites did when they built their golden calf.

Unlike them, we cannot claim to have inexperience with God and must, therefore, lean into our previous encounters so that we don't take steps that are contrary to our commitment to Him. By doing this, we will not break faith with the Lord and will instead rely on our 'Jericho Moments' as well as His stated promises in the Bible. Additionally, we'll be uncaging our faith and putting it to work, which will always result in more being poured out unto us based on Mark 4:24.

Do not let fear cause you to forget your experience with God and what He has done in the past. Never allow the spirit of fear to make you ignore His capacity to solve the problems you face now and in the future. Our God will help each of us, IJMN, Amen.